Sony Rootkit

November 21, 2005 4:26 PM

What are you doing to remove the Sony Rootkit that was so surreptitiously installed when you played that new Alan Jackson or Celine Dion CD?
posted by gnz2001 to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

The Windows Malicious Software Removal Kit will be adding the Sony Rootkit to its list of malicious software to remove. link
posted by clarahamster at 4:59 PM on November 21, 2005

I hadn't bought/played any of the infected CDs, so I only needed to take preventitive measures for the future - the Sony rootkit, like a lot of other DRM on CDs takes advantage of autoplay (the setting that tells your computer to load a CD when you insert it in the drive, on the once-safe assumption that you wouldn't be putting a CD in the drive unless you wanted to use it).

So, Google search for "disable autoplay", follow the instructions, and the computer is now immune. While I'm sure I could manually launch the rootkit from the file manager if I wanted, the process can't secretly start when I simply pop it in to play as a music CD, or if I want to rip the tracks to MP3.

This isn't the first, and isn't going to be the last DRM infection that uses autoplay, so disabling autoplay seems a good policy in general.
posted by -harlequin- at 5:51 PM on November 21, 2005

I stopped purchasing CDs. :-)

AllofMP3 is my hero now. See also: iTunes.
posted by disillusioned at 6:45 PM on November 21, 2005

Meanwhile, and this belongs in my first post, Sony is supposed to be releasing their own brand of software to take out the malware, with something along the likes available here.

A thorough reading of this Inquirer article should answer all your questions. And convince you to never, EVER purchase a CD from Sony again.
posted by disillusioned at 6:52 PM on November 21, 2005

I just don't buy anything except ringtones.
posted by moift at 7:42 PM on November 21, 2005

For these reasons, I personally believe that it is not only morally acceptable to download MP3/Ogg/etc copies of Sony-distributed CDs, but that doing so is preferable to purchasing them.

Actually Sony will replace any CD with the DRM on it, but you'll have to mail in the original copy. Not only that, they'll also email you a link to download completely DRM free mp3 files of the originals (ironicaly enough)
posted by Paris Hilton at 11:13 PM on November 21, 2005

Freedom to Tinker (the weblog of CS professor Ed Felten and other active DRM experts) has done a good job of tracking this. Here are the posts that directly answer your question:

• SonyBMG DRM Customer Survival Kit (includes removal instructions)
• Don’t Use Sony’s Web-based XCP Uninstaller
• Immunize Yourself Against Sony’s Dangerous Uninstaller
• Not Again! Uninstaller for Other Sony DRM Also Opens Huge Security Hole

posted by mbrubeck at 5:32 PM on November 22, 2005